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DAVID    C.    LEWIS 


David  C.  Lewis  is  now  87  years  old.  He  has 
owned  and  conducted  the  farm  now  made  famous 
by  "Chemicals  and  Clover"  since  1874.  Mr. 
Lewis  is  not  only  one  of  the  best  and  most  influ- 
ential farmers  this  country  has  produced,  but  one 
of  the  most  honorable  of  men.  A  few  years  ago 
there  was  a  demand  for  soil  from  a  good  alfalfa 
field  to  be  used  for  inoculating  new  fields.  Mr. 
Lewis  had  excellent  alfalfa  and  could  have  sold 
large  quantities  of  the  soil.  There  was  some 
little  question  as  to  whether  all  alfalfa  soils  con- 
tain the  characteristic  bacteria.  Mr.  Lewis  re- 
fused to  fill  another  order  unless  he  could  be 
convinced  that  the  soil  from  his  field  contained 
what  the  people  wanted  to  buy.  This  sturdy 
character  has  made  the  record  of  his  farm  all  the 
more  valuable,  for  we  know  that  the  figures  given 
are  accurate.  Good  seasons  or  bad,  Mr.  Lewis 
has  recorded  the  facts,  not  with  any  desire  to 
tell  "a  big  story,"  but  to  give  the  truth.  Thus, 
in  its  way,  and  tSirough  its  long  service  of  37  im- 
proving years,  the  Lewis  farm  has  done  for  plain 
American  farmers  much  of  what  the  famous 
Rothamsted  experiment  farm  did  for  scientific 
agriculture. 


DAVID  C.  LEWIS. 


CHEMICALS  AND  CLOVER. 

"England  is  robbing  all  other  countries  of  their 
fertility.  Already  in  her  eagerness  for  bones  she 
has  turned  up  the  battlefields  of  Leipsic  and  Water- 
loo and  of  the  Crimea;  already  from  the  catacombs 
of  Sicily  she  has  carried  away  the  skeletons  of  many 
successive  generations.  Annually  she  removes  from 
the  shores  of  other  countries  to  her  own  the  manurial 
equivalent  of  the  million  and  a  half  of  men  whom 
she  takes  from  us  the  means  of  supporting  and 
squanders  dow^n  her  servers  to  the  sea!" 


THIS  fierce  outburst  came  from  the  great  German 
chemist,  Justus  von  Liebig,  at  a  time  when  the  Eng- 
lish farmers  were  groping  their  way  toward  a  system 
of  Chemicals  and  Clover.  For  many  years  the  English 
farmers  had  rested  secure  in  their  belief  that  their  strong 
land  could  be  kept  productive  indefinitely  by  the  use  of 
stable  manure  and  live  stock  farming.  There  came  a  time, 
as  does  to  every  farming  section,  when  the  crops  plainly 
showed  that  something  more  was  needed.  As  England  de- 
manded more  food  her  land  began  to  fail.  Then,  led  by 
such  men  as  Sir  J.  B.  Lawes,  the  English  farmers  began  to 
search  and  scour  the  earth  for  plant  food.  The  bones  whiten- 
ing in  the  desert,  the  bird  deposits  on  ocean  islands,  the 
nitrates  in  the  parching  sands,  the  mounds  in  bat  caverns, 
the  smoke  from  factories,  the  ashes  of  sea  weeds  and  the 
G-erman  potash  mines  all  contributed  to  help  save  the  English 
farmer.  It  was  the  old  story  that  has  been  worked  out  in 
every  century  of  civilization.     ISTew  land  opened  to  cultiva- 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 


tion  made  food  cheaper.  The  old  system  of  farming  with 
stable  manure  alone  to  maintain  fertility  failed  to  maintain 
the  old  yields.  Farmers  were  driven  to  Chemicals  and  Clover, 
first  finding  a  suitable  addition  to  manure  and  then  a  full 
substitute  for  it.  In  every  age  men  have  foretold  dire 
disaster  to  the  human  race  through  a  failure  of  plant  food  and 
thus  a  failure  of  human  food.  Yet  it  is  true  that  those 
nations  and  sections  which  have  come  closest  to  the  true 
system  of  Chemicals  and  Clover  can  now  show  larger  average 
yields,  more  productive  soils  and  greater  agricultural  wealth. 

True  Even  in  Colorado. 

What  happened  to  English  farming  also  happened  to  the 
older  sections  of  America.  In  a  strip  of  land  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  there  has  probably  been  the  highest  develop- 
ment of  Chemicals  and  Clover  that  the  world  has  seen.  Dur- 
ing the  past  thirty  years  there  has  been  less  change  in  this 
system  of  farming  than  in  any  other.  Very  few  men  who 
farmed  in  the  old  way  can  say  that  their  methods  of  pro- 
viding plant  food  are  the  same  as  their  fathers  employed, 
3^et  that  is  just  what  thousands  of  young  men  who  use  chem- 
ical fertilizers  can  say.  .  The  old  order  changes — Chemicals 
and  Clover  remains  the  same.  Consider  history  for  a  moment 
and  you  will  see  the  truth  of  this.  Thirty  years  ago  I  lived 
in  Colorado.  Pioneers  had  gone  there  a  few  years  before 
and  opened  up  the  raw  prairie  soil.  There  was  no  way  in 
which  such  soil  could  lose  its  fertility  until  it  was  cultivated. 
The  rainfall  was  not  sufficient  to  leach  plant  food  away. 
Little  was  taken  away  by  the  few  cattle  which  grazed  the 
scanty  grass.  For  ages  that  soil  had  been  mellowing  and 
slowly  gaining  plant  food.  The  chemists  even  find  that 
chemical  action  goes  on  in  that  soil  which  forms  active  ni- 
trates in  a  way  which  may  account  for  the  deposits  of 
nitrate  of  soda  in  South  America.  Thus  the  soil  had  been 
guarded  and  replenished  through  ages,  needing  only  water. 
Thus  the  early  settlers  were  justified  in  saying  that  when  they 
secured  irrigating  water  from  the  rivers  they  had  a  perma- 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 


nent  garden  spot — soil  that  could  not  "wear  out."  Here  you 
might  well  say  was  a  system  of  farming  which  need  not  be 
changed  for  a  century  at  least.  Yet  within  a  dozen  years 
crops  began  to  fall  away  in  yield.  What  now?  It  was  the 
old  problem  which  sooner  or  later  confronts  the  farmers  of 
every  section.  You  cannot  continue  to  export  without  finally 
importing.  That  is  as  true  of  a  farm  as  of  a  cider  barrel. 
These  farmers  first  took  up  stock  feeding  to  help  the  land; 
alfalfa  came  in  by  the  thousand  acres  and  sugar  beets  fol- 
lowed. The  alfalfa  and  the  beets  and  beet  pulp  made  a  bal- 
anced ration  for  cattle  and  sheep.  For  a  time  this  result- 
ing manure  revived  the  yield.  Potatoes  planted  on  an  alfalfa 
sod  for  a  time  gave  heavy  yields,  then  they  began  to  fail 
once  more.  Looking  for  the  reason  it  became  evident  that 
while  the  alfalfa  might  be  adding  nitrogen,  the  sugar  beets 
and  the  live  stock  were  removing  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid.  The  success  of  any  system  of  farming  depends  upon 
the  skill  with  which  the  farmer  supplies  what  the  crops  re- 
move and  builds  up  a  surplus.  So  those  Colorado  farmers 
on  their  rich  soil  began  to  use  chemicals.  It  was  a  crude 
form  of  Chemicals  and  Clover,  much  the  same  beginning  as 
in  other  sections,  and  even  here  the  highest  type  of  the  system 
was  found  to  pay.  In  1889  a  Colorado  farmer  grew  847 
bushels  of  potatoes  on  a  measured  acre.  He  used  1,000 
pounds  per  acre  of  a  high-grade  fertilizer  such  as  is  used 
on  the  Atlantic  coast.  This  man  knew  his  business  for  he 
had  used  a  form  of  Chemicals  and  Clover  in  Scotland  and 
in  the  Eastern  states.  The  Colorado  soil  with  its  irrigation 
water  beat  all  records  with  this  fertilizer  added.  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  any  more  profitable  acre  of  potatoes  was  ever  grown 
in  Colorado. 


On  Rich  Kansas  Soil. 

In  Kansas  the  settlers  found  a  different  soil.  Here  was 
a  moist,  warm  climate  which  induced  a  rank  growth  of  vege- 
tation. For  centuries  this  heavy  growth  had  died  annually 
and   rotted   down  or  been  burned  to   ashes   by  prairie  fires. 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 


Thus  the  upper  surface  was  like  a  thick  layer  of  rich  manure. 
It  might  have  been  bagged  and  sold  to  fertilize  poorer  soils 
elsewhere.  In  fact,  such  soil  in  the  form  of  dried  muck  is 
mixed  and  sold  in  some  low  grade  fertilizers.  Here  was  a  case 
where  the  permanent  qualities  of  manure  should  have  been 
exhibited  if  anywhere  because  nothing  had  been  lost  from 
this  rich  soil.  ISTo  wonder  the  early  Kansas  settlers  be- 
lieved their  soil  had  no  bottom,  that  it  would  last  forever. 
They  grew  corn  stalks  as  large  as  trees  and  wheat  in  which 
a  giant  could  hide;  yet  3''ear  after  year  the  yield  failed.  Fi- 
nally in  1895,  the  average  corn  crop  in  Kansas  was  28  bushels 
per  acre  and  in  Connecticut  43  bushels.  It  seems  strange, 
yet  Connecticut  after  producing  nearly  300  annual  crops 
beat  Kansas  after  producing  only  50.  It  took  these  Kansans 
some  time  to  wake  up  to  the  fact  that  the  straw  and  the  cobs 
and  the  grain  had  carried  away  potash  and  phosphoric  acid 
never  to  return.  They  thought  it  was  a  case  of  chemicals 
or  clover,  but  Connecticut  followed  Chemicals  and  Clover 
and  went  ahead.  The  ashes  of  the  corn  cobs  put  back  on  the 
land  helps  and  is  the  first  step  toward  a  complete  Chemical 
and  Clover  system.     Sooner  or  later  all  must  come  to  it. 

Raw  Phosphate  in  Illinois. 

Again,  in  the  central  west  or  Mississippi  valley  the  same 
old  story  has  been  worked  out.  Less  than  20  years  ago  I 
was  asked  to  go  to  a  Western  state  and  talk  on  potato  grow- 
ing. When  the  Institute  manager  was  told  that  I  expected  to 
discuss  the  use  of  fertilizers  and  Chemicals  and  Clover,  he 
cancelled  the  engagement.  He  did  not  want  his  farmers  to 
know  that  there  was  any  substitute  for  clover  or  manure. 
That  knowledge  he  said  would  lead  to  "lazy  farming.^'  This 
year  over  $3,000,000  worth  of  fertilizer  was  used  in  Missouri 
alone.  The  change  has  come  as  it  always  does,  through  the 
old  story  of  learning  after  crops  fly  the  flag  of  distress,  that 
the  farmer  must  supply  what  the  soil  has  lost.  Take  Illinois 
as  an  illustration.  This  has  been  a  live  stock  State.  For 
50  years  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  have  grazed  the  pastures  and 
eaten  the  stalks,  grain  and  hay  and  then  walked  out  of  the 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 


State.  What  did  they  take  with  them?  In  every  1,000 
pounds  of  live  animal  there  went  27  pounds  of  nitrogen  and 
19  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid.  Since  Illinois  was  settled 
millions  of  tons  of  this  meat  have  thus  carried  away  plant 
food  and  left  the  soil  that  much  poorer.  At  first  it  was 
claimed  that  all  this  and  more  could  be  made  good  by  grow- 
ing clover.  Just  as  in  Colorado  and  in  Kansas,  this  answered 
for  a  time  but  the  clover  added  only  nitrogen  and  this  did 
not  take  the  place  of  the  other  plant  foods  for  the  live  stock 
had  carried  away  vast  quantities  of  phosphoric  acid. 

So  they  also  started  Chemicals  and  Clover.  This  start 
was  made  by  using  "floats"  or  ground  phosphate  rock.  The 
theory  of  this  practice  is  that  the  manure  and  the  clover 
can  make  this  rock  partly  available  and  that  the  clover  can 
utilize  it  and  thus  provide  for  other  crops.  We  will  not  dis- 
cuss that  here,  but  the  point  is  that  everywhere  in  this  coun- 
try, after  half  a  century  of  old-time  farming  with  selling 
live  stock  and  grain,  farmers  begin  a  crude  system  of  Chem- 
icals and  Clover.  The  corn  cob  ashes  in  Kansas  and  the 
phosphate  rock  in  Illinois  simply  indicate  the  growth  away 
from  the  old  idea  that  there  can  be  no  adequate  substitute 
for  manure.  I  have  letters  from  a  farmer  in  Alaska  who, 
finding  his  soil  failing,  first  tried  fish  and  then  the  ashes 
of  sea  weed  to  stop  the  decline.  All  these  things  finally  lead 
to  the  use  of  genuine  high-grade  chemical  mixtures  which 
means  larger  crops  and  greater  profits. 

The  Home  of  Chemicals  and  Clover. 

Prom  Florida  north  to  Maine,  along  the  Atlantic  coast, 
on  what  in  some  cases  may  be  called  about  the  poorest  soil  in 
America,  the  Chemicals  and  Clover  system  has  reached  its 
highest  development.  Here  may  be  found  some  of  the  most 
profitable  farms  in  the  country,  soil  that  is  more  productive 
than  30  years  before  and  a  system  of  farming  that  has  not 
changed  while  all  other  systems  have  been  turned  inside  out. 

And  now  you  will  ask — What  is  the  Chemicals  and  Clover 
System  ? 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 


It  is  the  plan  of  using  concentrated  wastes  of  plant  food 
in  the  form  of  chemicals  and  fitting  the  soil  so  that  the 
crops  can  find  these  wastes  quickly  and  economically. 

These  wastes  are  largely  deposits  of  plant  food  which 
nature  has  tucked  in  corners  of  the  earth,  through  long  ages 
ready  to  be  used  for  the  highest  type  of  farming. 

As  we  have  shown^,  the  plan  of  using  chemicals  to  help 
out  the  manure  supply  is  an  old  one.  The  name  "Chemicals 
and  Clover"  was  first  given  to  a  method  of  farming  followed 
by  a  group  of  intelligent  farmers  near  Cranbury,  N.  J.  There 
is  nothing  elsewhere  that  so  clearly  illustrates  this  system. 
Mr.  D.  C.  Lewis  was  the  pioneer  and  a  brief  description  of  his 
farm  operations  will  explain  it.  When  Washington  chased 
the  British  up  from  Philadelphia  he  found  this  a  section 
of  good  farms.  The  strong  level  land  produced  corn,  pota- 
toes, wheat  and  grass.  Some  dairying  was  done  and  stock  was 
fattened  and  sent  away.  Thus  we  may  see  that,  as  in  the 
West  at  a  later  date,  there  was  a  steady  drain  of  fertility 
away  from  the  farm.  ISTotice  here  that  is  the  world-wide 
history  of  agriculture.  Soil  is  left  to  nature  until  it  becomes 
highly  productive,  then  it  is  cropped  until  the  yields  fall 
away.  Wliile  this  may  require  5  or  50  years,  the  result  is 
ever  the  same.  Farmers  stick  to  the  old  systems  until  it  is 
evident  that  crops  are  failing,  then  they  start  in  to  save  the 
soil  by  purchasing  plant  food  of  some  sort.  This  answers 
for  a  time,  until  the  corn  will  not  ear  properl}^,  the  wheat  and 
oats  fail  and  all  crops  show  vine  and  stem  growth  at  the 
expense  of  seed.  After  costly  mistakes  such  farmers  finally 
learn  what  to  use.  We  see  how  these  Illinois  farmers  are 
beginning  with  phosphate  rock  and  Kansas  farmers  are  try- 
ing cob  ashes.  Others  have  tried  marl,  plaster,  lime  and 
muck  only  to  give  them  up  finally  and  pin  their  faith  to  high 
grade  fertilizers. 


How  They  All  Begin. 

Older  men  can  easily  remember  the  land  plaster  craze  in 
New  York  State  at  about  the  time  of  the  Civil  War.    Without 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 


question  the  land  plaster  did  serve  to  increase  crops  for  a 
few  years.  Because  it  did  so  many  farmers  agreed  that  no 
other  fertilizer  would  be  needed.  Yet  after  a  few  years  the 
plaster  failed  to  give  results.  When  they  learned  why  it 
failed  farmers  were  further  along  the  road  to  the  true  Chem- 
icals and  Clover.  The  plaster  did  not  add  plant  food;  it 
made  possible  a  chemical  action  in  the  soil  which  enabled 
available  forms  of  potash  to  be  fed  to  crops.  When  those 
forms  of  potash  were  used  up  of  course  the  plaster  failed. 
To-day  not  one  farmer  in  100  uses  plaster  except  it  may  be 
in  the  stable.  Farmers  have  learned  to  search  for  actual 
plant  food  in  forms  which  their  crops  can  utilize.  Thus 
every  one-sided  fertilizer  like  plaster,  floats  or  ashes  leads 
the  thinking  fanner  step  by  step  to  the  true  Chemicals  and 
Clover.  All  farmers  must  finally  go  that  way  or  fall  by 
the  wayside. 

Mr.  Lewis  was  no  exception.  He  bought  this  farm  in 
1873  and  has  seen  it  pass  through  the  definite  and  usual 
Chemicals  and  Clover  development.  Even  before  he  bought 
it  much  the  same  experiment  that  is  now  being  tried  in 
Illinois  was  worked  out  on  this  Jersey  farm.  Live  stock  and 
hay  had  been  the  chief  exports  and,  as  we  have  seen,  this 
meant  heavy  drafts  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid.  The 
owner  was  a  button  manufacturer  in  Philadelphia.  The  horn 
and  bone  refuse  from  the  button  factory  was  sent  by  canal, 
hauled  8  miles  and  spread  over  the  farm.  This  was  a  crude 
form  of  Chemicals  and  Clover.  In  the  light  of  the  agricul- 
tural science  of  that  day  it  seemed  like  sound  practice. 
Farmers  knew  that  bones  were  useful  as  a  fertilizer  and  it 
was  evident  that  bones  represented  the  chief  forms  of  plant 
food  that  had  been  carried  away  by  stock  and  crops.  Like 
the  Illinois  farmers,  those  Jersey  men  figured  that  phos- 
phoric acid  would  supply  all  that  was  needed.  The  Jerseymen 
learned  their  mistake  40  years  ago.  The  Western  men  will 
learn  it  later. 


10  CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 


A  Very  Crude  Beginning. 

When  Mr.  Lewis  bought  this  farm  it  was  evident  tliat 
something  beside  button  waste  was  needed  to  keep  up  the 
farm  fertility.  Something  was  needed,  for  any  one  could 
take  the  figures  and  see  that  the  farm  was  slowly  losing 
its  power  to  produce  crops.  Now  mind  what  I  say — let  us 
get  this  right — power  to  produce.  We  speak  of  a  soil  that 
has  lost  its  fertility  yet  it  would  require  centuries  to  bring 
about  such  a  condition.  Under  some  old  or  faulty  system 
of  farming  a  soil  may  lose  its  power  to  produce  and  in  that 
event  Chemicals  and  Clover  may  bring  that  power  back  by 
providing  the  plant  food  and  helping  the  soil  to  give  it  up. 

What  Mr.  Lewis  started  to  begin  with  may  be  called  a 
crude  system  of  Chemicals  and  Clover.  His  rotation  was  oats, 
wheat  grass  (2)  years  and  corn.  But  few  potatoes  were 
grown  at  this  time.  That  was  before  the  time  when  this 
bulky  crop  could  be  profitably  shipped.  A  small  herd  of 
cows  was  kept  and  their  manure  put  on  the  sod  for  corn. 
Mark  how  this  practice  remains  the  same  in  all  the  develop- 
ment of  Chemicals  and  Clover.  Whatever  manure  is  made 
is  put  on  the  sod  and  the  whole  thing  plowed  under  for  the 
corn  crop.  This  practice  stuffs  the  soil  with  organic  matter 
and  corn  is  the  best  crop  to  make  use  of  it.  "Chemicals"  in 
those  early  days  were  largely  confined  to  Peruvian  Guano 
and  marl.  The  plan  was  to  put  marl  at  the  rate  of  100 
bushels  per  acre  on  one  field  during  each  round  of  the  rota- 
tion. This  would  bring  the  application  of  marl  once  every 
5  years.  This  meant  a  heavy  liming  with  the  addition  of 
a  little  potash.  This  lime  whipped  up  the  soil  to  give  its 
plant  food,  and  while  for  a  time  it  forced  heavier  crops,  in 
the  end  it  weakened  the  soil.  On  each  acre  of  wheat  they 
used  150  pounds  of  Peruvian  guano.  This  gave  a  small 
amount  of  nitrogen  and  more  phosphoric  acid,  but  it  did  not 
supply  the  needs  of  the  wheat,  nor  could  the  soil  after  the 
oat  crop  supply  what  was  required.  Twenty-five  well  fed 
good  hens  would  furnish  as  much  plant  food,  but  the  point  is 
that  in   those  early  days  of  Chemicals  and  Clover  farmers 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  11 

did  not  realize  what  their  crops  needed.  Mr,  Lewis  realized 
that  something  more  than  marl  and  guano  was  needed,  for 
the  farm  had  come  to  the  point  where  20  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre  was  considered  a  good  yield.  Bear  in  mind  that  all 
through  this  Mr.  Lewis  had  the  clover  part  of  the  combina- 
tion in  operation.  He  also  used  the  manure  from  the  cows, 
but  it  was  not  until  he  got  the  right  combination  of  chem- 
icals to  go  with  the  clover  and  manure  that  the  farm  re- 
sponded. 

A  Manure  Substitute  Needed. 

The  gradual  failure  of  crops  might  not  have  made  so 
much  dijfference  if  the  high  war  prices  had  been  maintained. 
This  could  not  be.  The  government's  financial  policy  brought 
prices  down  and  thousands  of  old  soldiers,  after  the  war, 
moved  West  and  took  up  government  land.  To  them  were 
added  thousands  of  immigrants  from  Europe  all  eager  for 
homes  and  farms.  All  this  contributed  to  help  depress  prices 
for  good.  Prices  for  farm  products  steadily  fell  while  the 
cost  of  producing  a  ton  of  hay  or  a  bushel  of  wheat  in- 
creased. Suppose  it  cost  $18  to  produce  an  acre  of  wheat. 
The  yield  falls  from  25  to  20  bushels  and  the  price  falls 
from  $1.25  to  90  cents.  What  becomes  of  the  farmer?  He 
can  only  reduce  the  estimate  for  his  own  labor  and  work  for 
nothing.  The  selling  price  of  farm  produce  is  beyond  his 
control.  His  hope  is  to  reduce  the  cost  per  unit  by  growing 
more  bushels  to  the  acre  with  no  increase  of  labor,  taxes  or 
fixed  charges.  I  am  trying  to  make  it  clear  that  Mr.  Lewis 
was  driven  to  practice  the  true  Chemicals  and  Clover  through 
necessity.  It  was  a  part  of  true  historical  development  tJie 
same  as  numberless  changes  in  manufacturing  and  social 
life  on  the  Atlantic  coast  forced  by  the  opening  of  cheap 
Western  land.  Many  older  farmers  can  easily  remember  this 
critical  period  of  Eastern  farming.  The  opening  of  that 
Western  land  drew  ambitious  youth  away  from  Eastern  farms, 
filled  the  markets  with  cheap,  low  priced  food,  and  took  away 
what  our  farmers  regarded  as  the  most  logical  method  of 
keeping  up  fertility — live  stock  keeping.     Meat  of  all  sorts 


12  CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 

could  be  produced  cheaper  on  the  Western  land  than  else- 
where. The  New  Jersey  farm  could  not  stand  the  compe- 
tition at  the  old  methods  and  farm  prices  fell  and  farms 
failed. 

Men  like  Mr.  Lewis  could  readily  see  that  New  Jersey 
held  a  great  market  advantage.  His  farm  was  midway  be- 
tween the  two  largest  cities  on  the  continent,  wliile  this  new 
land  which  threatened  ruin  was  1,000  miles  away.  It  was 
evident  that  if  the  old  Eastern  farm  could  be  placed  in  fair 
productive  competition  witli  this  new  Western  land  the 
former  would  surely  have  the  advantage.  Yet  that  seemed 
like  a  large  contract  to  asl:  farms  over  a  century  old  to  com- 
pete with  virgin  soil.  Who  would  ask  the  man  of  50  years 
to  wrestle  with  the  young  fellow  of  25  ? 

What  could  possibly  place  the  two  farms  on  even  terms? 
As  he  saw  it  in  those  first  years,  Mr.  Lewis  concluded  that 
a  good  substitute  for  stable  manure,  with  improvements, 
would  do  it  and  nothing  else.  If  you  will  only  consider  for  a 
moment  you  will  see  that  this  is  the  conclusion  which  the  long 
line  of  Chemicals  and  Clover  farmers  have  always  finally  come 
to.  For  centuries  stable  manure  was  considered  the  fertiliz- 
ing foundation  for  agriculture.  Yet,  as  we  have  seen,  there 
always  comes  a  time  in  every  farming  section  when  stable 
manure  alone  will  not  maintain  crops  as  desired.  There 
must  be  added  to  it  what  the  crops  or  the  stock  have  taken 
away.  Therefore,  we  are  right  in  saying  that  the  true  Chemi- 
cals and  Clover  system  to  be  successful  must  provide  a  sub- 
stitute for  manure  and  also  what  the  manure  lacks.  Mr. 
Lewis  started  out  to  obtain  this  and  30  years  of  successful 
crops  with  a  soil  constantly  increasing  in  fertility  shows  that 
it  was  found. 


Studying    Out   a   Substitute. 

I  make  much  of  this  and  refer  to  it  again  and  again  be- 
cause much  the  same  conditions  prevail  to-day  with  men 
who  are  leaving  the  city  to  go  "Back  to  the  land."  They  find 
much  the  same  problem  and  must  have  a  substitute  for  stable 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  13 

manure  in  order  to  make  a  start.  At  the  time  we  speak  of, 
40  years  ago,  it  seemed  like  agricultural  heresy  to  say  that 
one  bag  of  high-grade  fertilizer  might  bring  to  the  farm  as 
much  plant  food  as  a  ton  of  stable  manure.  You  see  at  that 
time  the  farmer  did  not  stop  to  realize  that  outside  of  this 
bag  of  plant  food  the  manure  had  nothing  except  water  and 
organic  matter.  The  rain  was  fully  capable  of  furnishing  the 
water,  while  the  stubble  and  vines  will  provide  the  organic 
matter  or  humus.  If  you  have  the  plant  food  in  the  bag  and 
grow  grass  and  clover  in  your  rotations,  you  have  Chemicals 
and  Clover,  the  manure  substitute.  Most  of  this  was  new 
when  Mr.  Lewis  started.  It  had  not  been  worked  out  defi- 
nitely in  practice.  He  had  help  and  suggestions  from  Mr. 
Charles  V.  Mapes.  Mr.  Mapes  had  studied  and  handled 
fertilizers  for  years.  Prof.  James  Jay  Mapes,  his  father,  being 
a  noted  agricultural  chemist.  He  had  demonstrated  that  in  a 
way  the  development  of  a  substitute  for  manure  was  like  the 
growth  of  the  Chemicals  and  Clover  system.  We  have  seen 
that  in  this  plan  of  fertilizing  the  start  is  usually  made  with 
a  single  element  or  with  crude  forms  of  plant  food.  At  first 
these  help  then  they  fail  and  other  chemicals  follow  until  a 
complete  fertilizer  is  evolved.  So  it  was  with  the  development 
of  a  full  substitute  for  manure.  At  first  Peruvian  guano  was 
thought  to  be  sufficient.  Finally  it  failed  when  used  alone. 
Then  came  specially  prepared  bone,  blood  and  flesh,  fol- 
lowed by  additions  of  chemicals  to  suit  any  desired  crop  or 
special  soil.  This  growth  was  natural  with  the  needs  of  the 
soil  and  the  development  of  markets.  With  experiment  the 
mixtures  developed  into  that  complete  substitute  which  placed 
the  Jersey  farm  in  the  ring  once  more — a  winner.  It  was  a 
high-grade  mixture,  nothing  else  could  have  done  it.  How 
those  chemicals  did  marshal  the  hosts  to  defend  that  Jersey 
farm.  There  was  nitrate  from  the  South  American  deserts, 
bone  from  the  western  plains,  sulphate  of  ammonia  from  the 
fumes  of  factories,  guano  from  the  islands  of  the  sea  and 
potash  from  the  German  mines,  all  assembled  to  make  a 
substitute  for  manure.  This  was  entirely  natural,  for  very 
likely   every   one   of  these   concentrated   forms  had   in   ages 


14  CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 

past  been  used  again  and  again  to  produce  animal  or  vegeta- 
ble life.  Perhaps  you  never  before  considered  how  this  Chemi- 
cals and  Clover  system  brings  the  wastes  of  the  world  together 
as  nothing  else  can  do  to  make  the  products  which  save 
human  life  and,  what  is  more,  save  agriculture.  The  stable 
manure  farmer  must  depend  largely  upon  his  own  farm; 
the  chemical  farmer  may  say — the  world  is  mine. 

Organizing  the  Chemicals  and  Clover  Rotations. 

We  can  explain  what  is  meant  by  a  high-grade  mixture 
later.  Just  now  we  want  to  tell  how  Mr.  Lewis  saved  his 
farm  through  Chemicals  and  Clover.  For  save  it  he  did  and 
with  profit.  In  1874  his  total  sales  from  the  farm  were 
$1,694.38.  In  1911  the  same  farm,  same  fi.elds,  same  fertil- 
izer and  same  crops  produced  $5,250.87 !  To-day  this  farm 
is  surely  25  per  cent,  more  productive  than  it  was  37  years 
ago. 

Now,  in  order  to  make  a  full  substitute  for  manure  there 
must  be  humus  or  organic  matter  with  the  chemicals.  Ob- 
viously some  crops  give  more  humus  as  wastes  than  others. 
It  is  also  true  that  some  crops  give  better  results  than  others 
on  a  sod  or  where  the  soil  is  rich  in  organic  matter.  Others 
do  better  when  feeding  directly  upon  chemicals.  The  arrange- 
ment of  all  these  things  means  a  "rotation,"  that  is,  one  crop 
following  another  in  a  regular  and  definite  system  so  that  the 
natural  habits  of  one  match  into  those  of  the  others. 

There,  being  90  acres  of  tillable  land  in  the  Lewis  farm, 
5  fields  were  marked  off  for  the  rotation.  You  will  notice  that 
the  same  crops  which  had  been  grown  for  years  were  selected, 
only  the  arceage  of  potatoes  was  greatly  increased.  For- 
merly but  few  potatoes  were  grown,  oats  preceding  the  wheat. 
In  the  new  arrangement  the  oats  were  discarded,  potatoes 
taking  their  place.  This  was  because  the  potatoes  made  the 
best  money  crop  and  were  also  found  best  for  feeding  directly 
upon  the  chemicals.  In  starting  such  a  rotation  suppose  a 
field  is  in  grass,  two  crops  or  more  having  been  cut.  We 
all  know  that  corn  is  best  suited  to  sod  ground.     Com  can 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  15 

stand  heavier  feeding  than  any  other  farm  crop,  so  all  the 
farm's  accumulation  of  manure  is  hauled  and  spread  on  the 
sod.  This  may  be  done  at  any  time  after  the  hay  has  been 
removed.  On  level  land  it  is  a  good  job  for  winter  and 
each  day's  supply  can  be  hauled  out  when  ready.  "With  all 
this  manure  and  the  sod  plowed  under  the  corn  is  planted 
and  given  the  best  of  culture.  It  is  good  practice  to  sow 
crimson  clover  or  some  other  "cover"  crop  at  the  last  culti- 
vation of  the  corn.  This  cover  crop  plowed  under  in  the 
spring  adds  to  the  humus  or  organic  matter  in  the  soil — 
a  most  necessary  feature  of  Chemicals  and  Clover.  The  vig- 
orous corn  crop  utilizes  much  of  the  manure  and  sod  and 
leaves  the  soil  in  fine  condition  for  the  potato  crop  which 
comes  next  in  the  rotation.  Here  we  come  to  the  "Chem- 
icals" part  of  the  system.  The  corn  has  attended  to  the 
"Clover"  part  for  all  the  manure  was  put  on  the  sod  and 
plowed  under.  Then  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  chemicals  needed 
for  the  rotation  will  be  put  on  the  potatoes.  There  is  good 
reason  for  this.  The  potatoes  represent  the  money  crop,  that 
is,  they  bring  more  per  acre  than  the  grain  or  the  grass.  It 
is  therefore  a  matter  of  business  to  fertilize  heavily  and  se- 
cure as  large  a  potato  crop  as  possible.  Again,  there  is  no 
farm  crop  better  suited  to  chemical  feeding  than  potatoes. 
Stable  manure  in  large  quantities  will  make  the  crop  scabby 
and  lead  to  rot.  A  well  balanced  fertilizer  of  high-grade  will 
give  a  smooth,  fair  crop  and  supplies  every  requirement,  with- 
out forcing  the  plants  too  much.  And  the  high-grade  fer- 
tilizer is  so  made  that  after  the  potatoes  have  taken  what  they 
need  the  soil  still  holds  enough  chemical  plant  food  to  en- 
sure a  crop  of  wheat  and  two  large  crops  of  grass. 

What  Follows  the  Money   Crop? 

In  this  rotation  it  is  necessary  to  plant  a  potato  of  medium 
earliness  so  the  crop  can  be  dug  in  time  for  wheat  seeding 
with  grass.  Eye  might  wait  longer  but  wheat  should  be 
seeded  in  September.  If  the  potato  crop  has  been  larger 
than  usual  Mr.  Lewis  plans  to  use  some  chemicals  on  the 


16  CHEMICALS   AND   GLOVER 

wheat  and  of  late  years  this  has  become  a  general  practice 
for  Chemicals  and  Clover  farmers  have  one  standard  re- 
mark— "The  more  fertilizer  I  use  the  more  money  I  make." 
The  spring  following  this  wheat  seeding  clover  seed  is  scat- 
tered over  the  wheat  ground  and  usually  there  is  a  good 
"catch."  Mr.  Lewis  has  learned  that  Alsike  is  surer  than 
Bed  Clover  and  a  mixture  of  the  two  is  usually  seeded. 
The  wheat  is  harvested  at  the  proper  time  and  then  the  grass 
comes  on.  The  first  year  it  is  heavy  with  clover  hut  the 
Timothy  comes  in  the  second  year.  After  two  crops  are 
cut  we  are  right  where  we  started  with  a  sod  two  years  old, 
carrying  all  the  farm  manure  ready  to  be  plowed  and  put 
in  corn  once  more.  Thus,  with  the  rotation  fully  under 
way,  Mr.  Lewis  had  each  year  about  18  acres  each  of  corn, 
potatoes  and  wheat  and  36  acres  in  grass.  The  corn  and  the 
potato  ground,  or  36  acres,  are  plowed  each  year,  all  the 
manure  on  the  corn  ground  and  nearly  all  the  chemicals  on 
potatoes.  Bear  in  mind  that  these  are  all  farm  crops,  not 
truck  or  garden.  But  how  do  you  prove  that  the  chemicals 
on  the  potatoes  and  the  stubble,  vines  and  stalks  of  the 
other  crops  make  a  substitute  for  manure? 

Facts  and  Figures  Prove  It. 

I  prove  it  by  figures  and  the  history  of  the  farm.  Thus 
far,  you  have  had  theory,  but  Mr.  Lewis  has  been  accumulat- 
ing figures  for  37  years.  In  1874  when  this  rotation  started, 
sales  from  this  farm  amounted  to  $1,694.38.  For  the  year 
ending  April  1,  1911,  sales  of  the  same  crops  from  the  same 
land,  grown  by  the  same  fertilizer  came  to  $5,250.87,  over 
three  times  the  year's  product  37  years  before !  Since  this 
rotation  was  organized  and  started  this  farm  of  90  acres  of 
tilled  land  has  produced  $103,390.82  worth  of  grain,  hay, 
potatoes  and  milk.  The  rotation  has  now  run  around  seven 
times  without  change  of  method,  crops  or  chemicals,  except 
that  where  some  years  ago  the  stalks  were  thrown  into  the 
manure,  they  are  now  fed.  In  the  first  five  years  of  the  rota- 
tion total  sales  were  $9,611.27.     In  the  last  five  years  these 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  17 

sales  were  $18,070.85.     Here  are  the  figures  of  a  few  years 

taken  at  random : 

Farm  Sales 

1874    $1,694.38 

1884    1,972.00 

1894    ' 2,874.38 

1902    3,856.04 

1905    3,288.29 

1909    3,074.93 

1910    4,339.95 

1911     5,250.87 

Now  think  what  this  means.  It  is  not  track  farming, 
involving  a  great  gang  of  workmen,  hut  the  culture  of  ordi- 
nary farm  crops  such  as  two  men  or  a  good  family  with  extra 
help  in  haying  and  potato  digging  can  handle.  Since  the 
start  with  Chemicals  and  Clover  the  farm  has  turned  off, 
as  we  have  seen,  $103,390.12  worth  of  produce  or  $1,148.17 
per  working  acre.  Starting  in  1874  with  an  average  of 
$18.82  per  acre,  in  1911  the  average  on  these  same  acres 
was  $58.23.  Some  one  may  say  that  this  has  cost  more  than 
it  came  to.  Not  so,  for  the  cost  for  fertilizer  in  1911  was 
less  than  $7  per  acre  for  the  farm.  Mr.  Lewis,  after  all 
these  years  'of  Chemicals  and  Clover  says  that  with  this 
system  properly  carried  out  he  can  go  on  cropping  indefi- 
nitely, with  large  returns,  and  with  the  soil  constantly  grow- 
ing more  productive.  ^Vhat  is  more,  he  says  he  can  take 
any  reasonably  level  farm  of  fair  soil  and  good  drainage, 
reasonably  near  a  market,  and  make  it  pay  from  the  start 
with  Chemicals  and  Clover!  These  figures  prove  it  for 
here  is  this  once  failing  farm  after  37  years  of  continuous 
cropping  now  producing  larger  crops  than  ^ver  before. 

Going   Into   the    Details. 

And  now  you  will  ask — how  were  these  crops  divided  to 
bring  $5,000  or  more.  Do  they  get  returns  for  putting  so 
much  fertilizer  on  potatoes?     Here  are  the  figures  for  1911: 


18  CHEMICALS    AND   CLOVER 

Sales  of  Farm  Crops,  1911. 

Milk  and  calves  $700.00 

Potatoes    2,741.00 

Hay  1,100.00 

Wheat    579.87 

Chickens  and  pork 130.00 

Total $5,250.87 

Now  you  will  notice  there  is  no  recorded  sale  of  corn 
here.  Formerly  sales  of  this  grain  equalled  those  of  wheat; 
now  the  crop  is  practically  all  fed  to  the  stock.  The  sales  of 
$830  for  milk  and  stock  should  mostly  be  credited  to  the 
corn  crop.  The  chief  object  in  keeping  the  cows  is  that 
they  may  consume  the  corn  stalks  with  profit.  In  the  earlier 
days  of  this  system  these  stalks  were  wasted,  so  far  as  their 
feeding  value  was  concerned.  They  were  thrown  on  the  sod 
to  decay  or  into  the  barnyard  to  be  trampled  and  crushed 
into  the  manure.  The  object  has  ever  been  to  put  back 
into  the  soil  the  wastes  of  the  crops  such  as  stalks,  straw 
and  stubble  and  sell  the  rest.  There  are  chemical  farms 
from  which  even  the  stalks  and  straw  are  sold,  but  Mr.  Lewis 
from  the  first  has  realized  the  necessity  for  humus  or  vegetable 
matter  on  his  soil.  There  are  soils  where  this  need  is  not 
so  great,  but  if  you  start  out  to  make  a  substitute  for  manure 
you  must  consider  the  organic  matter.  We  must,  of  course, 
realize  frankly  that  the  plan  is  all  opposed  to  the  old  theory 
that  nothing  should  even  be  sent  away  from  the  farm  that 
can  be  consumed  there.  I  have  heard  old  farmers  say  that 
any  man  who  sold  hay  and  grain  surely  entailed  a  curse  upon 
his  children — in  a  wasted  farm.  Yet  how  can  any  such 
theory  stand  against  the  facts  of  this  farm?  Go  and  see  if 
you  can  find  100  acres  handled  on  this  old  plan  which  pro- 
dTTces  more  and  constantly  grows  more  productive. 

How  Does  the  Com  Help? 

You  will  notice  that  the  rule  is  to  consume  the  stalks  and 
sell  the  hay.     The  stalks  would  barely  bring  in  market  their 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  19 

actual  plant  food  value,  while  the  hay  brings  three  times 
as  much.  Thus  the  hay  means  a  profit  to  the  farm,  while 
the  stalks,  sold  in  the  same  way,  might  mean  a  loss.  You 
may  ask  why  grow  corn  at  all  since  it  gives  little,  if  any, 
direct  addition  to  the  farm  income.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  items  of  $830  for  milk  and  pork  belong  to  the  corn 
crop.  All  this  aside  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  crops 
in  the  rotation.  On  many  farms  the  hogs  or  the  flock  of 
ducks  act  as  scavengers  and  are  most  profitable  because  they 
make  good  use  of  the  rougher,  bulky  forms  of  food.  Corn 
is  the  useful  hog  among  crops.  Any  farmer  will  tell  you 
that  neither  potatoes,  wheat  nor  grass  seed  would  do  as 
well  on  a  manured  sod  right  after  plowing  as  corn  does. 
Corn,  the  hog  plant,  not  only  makes  use  of  this  roughage, 
but  it  does  more.  It  is  also  corn,  the  manufacturer,  for  it 
fits  that  tough  sod  for  potatoes  as  no  other  crop  will.  Go 
into  a  com  field  planted  on  sod  at  the  end  of  the  season  and 
see  how  mellow  the  soil  has  become.  The  tough  roots  of 
grass  and  weeds  and  the  wiry  stubble  have  disappeared  or 
changed  to  soft,  open  humus,  while  the  corn  roots  fill  the  soil 
and  keep  it  open  and  porous.  The  potato  is  not  a  root  but 
an  enlarged  underground  stem  and  it  cannot  possibly  make 
a  large  yield  unless  the  soil  is  porous  and  at  the  same  time 
capable  of  holding  moisture.  A  tough  sod  immediately  after 
plowing  is  not  of  this  character  but  after  being  fitted  and 
strained  by  the  corn  crop  such  a  soil  is  ideal  for  potatoes. 
Thus  the  corn,  while  not  making  a  large  financial  contribu- 
tion, still  makes  it  possible  for  the  "money  crop"  to  do  its 
best. 

Yet,  as  we  see,  the  milk  and  the  pork  give  good  returns. 
The  corn  crop,  put  into  the  silo  or  husked,  with  the  dry 
stalks  fed,  is  responsible  for  most  of  the  milk  money.  If  the 
corn  were  given  up  the  cattle  would  also  go.  Thus  corn  helps 
dispose  of  the  farm  wastes  and  also  provides  a  profitable 
winter  job.  Of  late  years  Mr.  Lewis  has  worked  into  alfalfa 
culture  with  considerable  success.  The  alfalfa  hay  is  fed  with 
the  stalks  to  the  cattle,  making  nearly  a  complete  ration  and 
leaving  more  hay  for  sale.     Thus,  as  we  see,  after  feeding 


20  CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 

all  the  stock  (about  a  dozen  head),  hay  to  the  value  of  $1,100 
was  sold. 

Chemicals  on  the  Money  Crop. 

But  the  money  crop  is  potatoes.  In  1911  we  see  this 
crop  providing  over  half  the  total  income.  This  meant  a 
combination  of  good  yield  and  high  prices — a  banner  year. 
Yet  do  not  forget  that  the  corn  and  the  grass  crop  both  helped 
to  make  this  possible.  On  practically  every  farm  there  will 
be  found  certain  fields  which  make  better  potato  soils  than 
others.  As  the  rotation  passes  on  the  chance  of  a  favorable 
season  and  one  of  those  superior  soils  will  make  a  banner 
year.  On  the  poorer  soils  the  potato  crop  may  not  do  so  well, 
but  other  crops  may  be  better.  The  rule  of  Chemicals  and 
Clover  is  to  operate  on  the  principle  that  every  year  is  the 
banner  year  and  feed  the  potatoes  to  the  limit  of  their  ca- 
pacity. This  is  entirely  safe  for,  as  we  shall  see,  the  wheat 
and  the  grass  follow  so  closely  that  there  can  be  little  if 
any  loss  of  plant  food.  It  was  John  Sherman  who  said  that 
a  surplus  is  always  better  than  a  deficit.  That  is  true  of  a 
nation's  finances  and  also  of  the  system  of  Chemicals  and 
Clover.  After  the  corn  crop  has  worked  over  and  fitted  the 
sod  ground  it  is  safe  and  highly  profitable  to  use  heavy  dress- 
ings of  a  high-grade,  balanced  fertilizer.  That  is  the  keynote 
of  success.  Mr.  Lewis  now  knows  that  this  is  true,  but  at 
first  he  was  inclined  to  hesitate.  It  did  seem  like  a  mistake 
to  throw  on  more  fertilizer  than  the  crop  could  possibly 
take  out.  He  visited  some  successful  farmers  on  Long  Is- 
land and  found  them  using  3,000  pounds  of  fertilizer  per 
acre.  They  showed  him  figures  and  proved  that  while  the 
single  potato  crop  might  not  respond  and  clean  up  all  the 
plant  food,  the  wheat  and  the  two  grass  crops  did  respond 
and  fully  paid  for  the  goods.  This  Long  Island  soil  was 
light  and  needed  more  fertilizer.  On  the  stronger  New 
Jersey  soil  1,200  pounds  per  acre  made  a  good  dressing  for 
the  potatoes  and,  year  after  year,  this  has  kept  the  farm 
going.  You  see  the  figures  of  sales  and  you  must  remember 
also  that  chemical  farming  saves  labor.    As  all  farmers  know, 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  21 


the  labor  cost  of  handling  the  manure,  even  when  carriers 
and  spreaders  are  used,  is  the  heaviest  item  of  expense  and 
certainly  the  most  disagreeable  job.  In  Chemicals  and  Clover 
the  work,  and  particularly  that  of  the  potato  crop,  may  be 
practically  all  done  by  machinery.  Plowing,  planting,  culti- 
vating, spraying  and  digging,  everything  up  to  picking  po- 
tatoes, may  be  done  while  riding  on  a  comfortable  seat.  Two 
men  each  Avith  only  one  leg  can  do  nearly  all  the  work  in 
Chemicals  and  Clover  except  picking  up. 

The  Other  Crops  Fit  In. 

And  now  let  us  see  how  beautifully  the  wheat  and  grass 
fit  into  Chemicals  and  Clover.  It  is  said  that  they  eat  at 
the  second  table.  Many  boarders  prefer  this.  They  do  not 
receive  hash  and  scraps  but  a  carving  of  meat  nearer  the 
center  where  the  true  juices  are.  In  much  the  same  way  the 
wheat  and  the  grass  get  the  best  there  is.  Like  the  corn 
they  not  only  furnish  products  for  sale,  but  save  what  the 
potatoes  leave  and  help  fit  the  soil  for  another  crop.  You 
see  how  the  "Clover"  or  humus  part  of  this  system  revolves 
around  the  Chemicals.  With  all  this  heavy  dressing  of  fer- 
tilizer when  the  potatoes  are  planted,  of  course  late  summer 
finds  the  soil  well  supplied  with  plant  food.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  of  the  soluble  nitrates  which  are  freely  formed 
in  the  hot,  moist  soil  during  late  summer  and  fall.  So  long 
as  the  potato  crop  keeps  on  growing  these  nitrates  are  used 
as  they  are  formed  and  not  lost.  Digging  the  potatoes  and 
harrowing  the  ground  still  further  stimulates  the  formation 
of  these  nitrates  and  if  the  soil  were  left  bare,  there  would 
be  a  heavy  loss  and  the  system  of  using  more  plant  food  than 
the  potato  crop  really  needs  might  fairly  be  criticized.  Here 
is  where  the  wheat  and  grass  come  in  and  save  the  day. 
When  they  are  seeded  on  the  potato  ground  they  fill  the 
soil  with  their  living  roots  and  utilize  these  soluble  nitrates 
which  would  otherwise  be  lost.  This  gives  them  the  remarka- 
ble start  which  all  have  observed  when  grain  is  seeded  after 
well  fertilized  potatoes.  A  high-grade  fertilizer  is  built  to 
stay  by  the  job  and  after  saving  these  wastes  from  the  potato 


22  CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 

crop  and  thus  getting  a  full  start,  the  wheat  and  grass  find 
food  enough  to  grow  on  to  a  finish.  For  as  we  saw  there 
was  enough  plant  food  put  on  the  potatoes  to  feed  all  three 
crops.  Here  again,  we  see  the  true  theory  of  Chemicals  and 
Clover.  In  ordinary  years  the  chemicals  put  on  the  po- 
tatoes will  fully  carry  the  wheat  and  the  two  grass  crops 
through.  Should  there  be  any  indications  of  crop  failure 
or  lack  of  plant  food,  a  top  dressing  of  soluble  fertilizer 
will  at  once  supply  the  need.  In  some  cases  rye  proves 
even  more  profitable  than  wheat.  The  straw  is  worth  more 
and  there  is  usually  a  surer  "catch"  of  grass  than  with  wheat. 
This  would  mean  the  sale  of  straw  and  the  loss  of  that  much 
more  to  the  farm,  for  at  Cranbury  the  wheat  straw  is  all 
worked  up  into  the  manure.  As  we  can  see  from  our  table, 
the  wheat  crop  brought  $579.87  or  about  $33  per  acre.  Not 
a  large  income,  yet  profitable  when  we  consider  how  the  wheat 
saves  what  one  crop  of  potatoes  leaves  and  helps  fit  the  soil 
for  another.  This  rotation  represents  the  highest  type  of 
Chemicals  and  Clover.  There  are  modifications  of  it  as  we 
shall  see,  but  this  is  the  real  thing  for  farm  crops.  Re- 
member that  this  is  no  fairy  tale  but  the  plain  record  of 
facts.  Cranbury  is  on  the  map  and  the  farm  and  all  its 
methods  are  easily  to  be  seen. 

What  is  Meant  by  "High  Grade"  ? 

But  why  all  this  talk  about  "high-grade"  fertilizer  ?  What 
does  that  mean?  Are  not  all  fertilizers  which  contain  equal 
quantities  of  plant  food  the  same?  Do  you  mean  to  say  that 
different  crops  are  so  different  in  feeding  habits  that  they 
will  do  better  on  one  mixture  than  another? 

In  these  questions  you  get  down  to  the  heart  of  the  sub- 
ject. It  has  been  made  clear  that  Mr.  Lewis,  like  all  chem^ 
ical  farmers  before  him,  had  to  find  a  fair  substitute  for 
stable  manure  before  he  could  hope  to  make  his  farm  pay. 
He  might  have  used  a  crude  mixture  of  chemicals  giving 
much  the  same  total  amount  of  plant  food  as  the  mixture 
which  has  made  success  possible,  but  he  would  have  failed. 
For  instance,  a  mixture  of  tankage  and  fish,  acid  phosphate 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  23 

and  kainit  would  have  provided  the  actual  plant  food,  but 
before  two  rounds  of  the  rotation  had  passed  both  the  soil 
and  the  crops  would  have  shown  that  something  was  wrong. 
To  make  it  clearer,  let  us  take  this  very  stable  manure  for 
which  a  substitute  is  required.  Who  does  not  know  that 
although  all  manures  contain  the  same  kinds  of  plant  food 
they  vary  greatly  in  quality?  Take  a  herd  of  "Springers" 
wintered  on  dry  stalks  and  poor  hay  alone  and  coming 
out  of  winter  "spring  poor."  Compare  the  manure  such  poor 
creatures  make  with  that  from  a  grain  fed  dairy  herd  com- 
fortably wintered  and  fed  clover  hay.  You  know  that  one 
is  worth  far  more  than  the  other,  ton  for  ton.  Take  cow 
manure  wintered  in  the  drippings  from  the  barn  roof  and 
put  great  frozen  chunks  of  it  on  one  field.  Take  from  another 
farm  mixed  horse  and  cow  manure  thrown  into  a  tight  barn 
cellar  and  well  worked  over  by  hogs.  Put  this  on  another 
field  and  compare  the  crop  with  that  grown  from  the  hard 
chunks.  One  is  what  we  call  low-grade  and  the  other  high- 
grade  manure.  The  difference  between  them  is  what  they 
are  made  of  and  the  way  they  have  been  handled.  Or,  take 
manure  which  has  been  carefully  composted  under  a  shed 
until  it  is  well  decayed  and  fine.  Is  there  any  intelligent 
farmer  who  would  not  choose  that  for  any  crop  in  place  of 
the  lumpy,  green  stuff  M^hich  you  often  find  in  the  barn 
yard?  If  you  had  to  use  the  coarse  stuff  at  all  you  would 
rather  have  it  on  corn.  Yet  they  are  both  called  manure 
only  one  has  been  cared  for  until  we  call  it  high-grade  be- 
cause its  plant  food  is  available  and  so  fine  that  it  will  spread 
easily. 

Fine  Hen  Manure  is  "High  Grade." 

Or,  to  make  it  still  clearer,  take  the  different  kinds  of 
manure  to  be  found  on  your  farm  such  as  hen,  horse,  cow  or 
sheep.  Who  does  not  know  that  dry  and  fine  hen  manure 
represents  the  highest  grade  of  all  farm  fertilizers?  It  is  a 
common  fact  that  at  auctions  farmers  will  often  pay  as  much 
for  three  barrels  of  good  hen  manure  as  for  a  ton  of  old 
cow  manure,  leached  in  the  barn  yard  and  full  of  long  stalks. 


24  CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 


Why  is  this?  Both  are  known  as  "manure/'  yet  farmers 
have  learned  by  experience  that  a  small  one-horse  load  of 
the  hen  manure  has  a  greater  crop  producing  power  than  a 
big  two-horse  load  of  the  other.  A  handful  of  one  is  known 
to  equal  a  forkful  of  the  other  in  its  power  to  make  crops 
grow.  Why  is  this?  There  are  two  chief  reasons  why  the 
hen  manure  ranks  as  "high-grade."  One  is  the  food,  the 
other  mixing  or  preparation.  The  hen  has  a  greater  variety 
of  food.  She  eats  insects,  meat,  pieces  of  bone,  forms  of 
food  containing  far  more  nitrogen  than  any  cow  food.  Then 
nature  adopts  different  plans  of  mixing.  With  the  cow, 
liquids  and  solids  are  voided  separately.  The  liquids  contain 
most  of  the  valuable  plant  food  but  they  are  mostly  lost  by 
leaching  away.  With  the  hen,  liquids  and  solids  are  voided 
together  and  thoroughly  mixed  and  when  promptly  dried  the 
hen  manure  thus  contains  three  to  four  times  as  much  plant 
food  (more  available  as  well)  as  the  colder  and  more  bulky 
cow  manure.  Thus  the  hen  manure  is  made  of  rich  ma- 
terials, all  of  which  are  saved.  The  cow  manure  is  made  of 
coarser  products  with  much  of  its  plant  food  lost  through 
the  liquids  and  their  place  supplied  by  bedding  or  trash  with 
but  little  fertilizing  value.  This  illustration  of  the  differ- 
ence between  hen  and  cow  manure  explains  what  we  mean 
by  high-grade  and  low-grade  fertilizers,  both  as  to  quality 
and  preparation.  ISTot  only  is  the  hen  manure  rich  in  plant 
food,  but  it  is  so  composed  that  it  stays  by  the  crop  from 
start  to  finish.  Many  a  farmer  got  his  start  in  Chemicals 
and  Clover  by  observing  the  effect  of  a  handful  of  dried  hen 
manure  in  the  hill  of  corn.  The  liquids  mixed  with  the 
solids  act  first  to  feed  the  crop  during  its  early  life,  then 
the  balance  becomes  more  and  more  available  as  the  season 
progresses,  so  that  the  crop  is  fully  supplied  all  through  its 
growth. 

Why  the  High  Grade  Stays  By. 

Now  when  a  farmer  realizes  what  this  difference  in  farm 
manures  stands  for  he  can  easily  see  that  there  may  be  a 
similar  difference  in   Chemical  mixtures  and  for  much  the 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  25 

same  reason.  Since  it  is  a  substitute  for  it,  a  high-grade 
mixture  should  be  built  like  a  high-grade  manure,  with 
additions  of  what  the  manure  lacks.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
hen  manure,  half  a  dozen  or  more  things  go  to  compose  it. 
Each  plays  its  peculiar  part.  For  example,  a  high-grade 
fertilizer  should  offer  nitrogen  to  the  crop  in  half  a  dozen 
different  forms.  In  earliest  spring  when  iJie  soil  is  cold,  yet 
when  the  young  crop  must  grow,  the  nitrates  are  at  once 
available.  Then  comes  sulphate  of  ammonia,  dried  blood, 
Peruvian  guano,  fine  bone  and  the  rest,  each  with  its  part  to 
play  at  the  right  time,  following  in  succession.  It  is  all  so 
well  arranged  that  there  is  no  moment  during  the  life  of  the 
potato  plant  that  it  may  not  have  an  abundant  supply  of 
available  plant  food.  When  the  crop  is  harvested,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  wheat  and  the  grass  follow  the  potatoes  and  utilize 
and  save  all  available  nitrogen  that  the  potatoes  leave  in  the 
soil.  Any  one  can  see  the  advantage  of  having  this  wide 
variety  of  chemicals  rather  than  only  one  or  two.  Imagine  a 
market  gardener  putting  cold  and  cloddy  cow  manure  into 
the  soil  and  expecting  to  grow  an  early  crop  of  lettuce  or 
garden  truck !  Any  farmer  will  know  that  he  would  do 
much  better  with  fine  hen  manure,  compost  and  liquid  ma- 
nure. Yet  the  dressing  of  cow  manure  may  contain  just  as 
much  nitrogen  as  the  other.  Can  you  not  see  that  the  fine, 
well-rotted  manure  gives  better  results  because  it  contains 
more  and  better  forms  of  this  nitrogen  ?  That  is  what  makes 
it  high-grade.  Suppose  that  in  his  dressing  of  potato  fer- 
tilizer Mr.  Lewis  uses  40  pounds  of  nitrogen  per  acre.  He 
might  use  40  pounds  in  the  form  of  tankage  or  dried  fish 
and  nothing  more.  There  is  no  man  who  ever  used  fertilizers 
who  will  say  that  this  could  possibly  equal  the  results  from 
a  high-grade  mixture  of  different  forms  of  nitrogen.  I 
keep  at  this  again  and  again  because  it  is  the  very  founda- 
tion of  success  with  Chemicals  and  Clover.  You  must  have  a 
high-grade  mixture.  It  is  the  same  way  with  phosphoric 
acid,  a  low-grade  mixture  may  have  but  one  form  of  phos- 
phoric acid,  an  acid  phosphate.  In  most  soils  this  form 
will  be  "reverted"  or  changed  so  that  it  has  little  power  to 


26  CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 

feed  plants  and  yearly  applications  must  be  made.  The 
high-grade  mixture  will  supply  phosphoric  acid  in  bone, 
guano  and  bone  black.  This  phosphoric  acid  will  become 
more  and  more  available  as  time  goes  on,  the  reverse  of  the 
acid  phosphate  which  becomes  less  and  less  available  with  age. 

The  Whole  Story  Told. 

Another  virtue  of  the  dried  hen  manure  is  the  fact  that 
it  can  be  crushed  fine  and  evenly  spread.  Consider  for  a 
moment  that  in  one  acre  only  one  foot  deep  there  are  3,500,- 
000  pounds  of  soil.  Imagine  how  little  showing  a  few  tons 
of  manure  or  one  ton  of  fertilizer  can  make  in  this  great 
mass  unless  the  fertilizer  can  be  evenly  spread  all  through  the 
ground.  The  fertilizer  itself  must  be  so  thoroughly  mixed 
that  every  tablespoonful  is  a  fair  sample.  It  must  be  so  dry 
and  fine  that  it  can  be  found  and  used  whenever  the  plant 
roots  hunt  for  it.  What  we  call  a  high-grade  mixture  sizes 
up  to  these  requirements.  It  costs  more  than  the  coarser, 
sticky  "low-grade"  goods  and  is  worth  more,  just  as  a  barrel 
of  good  hen  manure  is  often  worth  as  much  as  half  a  ton  of 
coarse  trash  from  the  barn  yard.  Mr.  Lewis  told  me  only 
the  other  day  that  he  would  not  attempt  to  keep  up  his  rota- 
tion or  start  farming  on  other  land  vvihout  the  highest  grade 
fertilizer  he  could  obtain.  I  a^eQ  him  if  he  could  not 
take  an  equal  amount  of  plant  food  in  tankage,  acid  phos- 
phate and  kainit  and  do  as  well.  He  laughed  at  the  idea, 
saying  that  from  the  very  nature,  origin  and  analysis  of 
good  manure  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  great  variety  of  plant 
food  in  order  to  make  a  manure  substitute.  Even  now  I 
sometimes  hear  farmers  object  to  chemicals  because  they 
do  not  believe  in  bringing  plant  food  from  elsewhere.  They 
claim  that  the  farm  should  support  itself.  Let  them  think 
for  a  moment  and  they  will  see  the  folly  of  this  argument. 
They  will  grow  a  crop  at  one  end  of  the  farm  or  at  the  other 
end  of  town,  haul  it  home,  feed  it  and  carry  the  manure  to 
feed  a  crop  grown  half  a  mile  from  the  first  field.  Or,  they 
will  buy  stable  manure  from  town  and  haul  it  to  their  farm. 
What   is  this  stable  manure?     The  hay   came   from    Iowa, 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  27 

the  oats  from  New  York,  the  corn  from  Illinois  and  the 
straw  from  Pennsylvania.  It  is  as  much  "imported"  as  any 
chemicals. 

What  is  more,  these  very  chemicals  are  really  concentrated 
manure.  "We  see  that  high-grade  manure  is  that  which 
has  been  finely  worked  up  and  chemically  worked  over.  Most 
of  the  chemicals  were  originally  much  the  same  as  the  things 
which  produce  manure  but  the  fineness  and  chemical  action 
has  been  carried  on  much  longer  and  further.  At  least  part 
of  the  nitrate  of  soda  found  in  the  South  American  deserts 
was  derived  from  vast  manure  beds  of  ages  ago.  Nitrate 
of  potash  comes  up  from  sink  holes  and  manure  pits  and  is 
often  formed  in  small  quantities  in  manure  piles.  Sulphate 
of  ammonia  is  washed  out  of  the  fumes  from  coal  and 
organic  matter.  Peruvian  guano  is  well  dried  bird  manure. 
Blood,  bone,  flesh  and  fish  are  organic  substances,  all  of  them 
fed  at  times  to  animals.  Do  you  not  see  that  the  high-grade 
mixture  of  these  substances  is  more  than  a  manure  substitute 
but  rather  a  manure  extract?  No,  there  is  but  one  outcome 
from,  all  the  world's  experimenting  with  chemicals.  Sooner 
or  later  the  farmer  must  come  to  a  high-grade  substitute  for 
manure  if  he  expects  to  maintain  his  farm. 

Modification  of  the  System. 

I  have  given  the  details  of  this  system  followed  by  Mr. 
Lewis  because  it  is  the  standard  plan  for  Chemicals  and 
Clover.  It  is  a  farm  rotation  of  standard  farm  crops,  within 
reach  of  any  farmer  of  moderate  capital  who  must  compete 
with  other  farmers  on  even  terms.  There  are,  of  course, 
many  modifications  of  the  system,  all  based  on  the  general 
plan  of  feeding  some  money  crop  heavily  on  chemicals  and 
using  other  crops  to  utilize  what  this  money  crop  leaves  and 
help  fit  the  soil.  One  man  in  a  more  northern  latitude  with 
a  small  farm  provides  four  fields,  corn,  potatoes,  rye  and 
clover.  The  potatoes  are  heavily  fertilized  with  chemicals. 
This  farm  is  too  far  north  to  make  wheat  seeding  after  po- 
tatoes safe,  so  rye  is  used  alone,  no  grass  seed  being  wanted, 
but  clover  is  seeded   in   the  spring.      Instead   of  harvesting 


28  CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER 

the  rye  a  drove  of  hogs  is  turned  in  to  eat  it  down  which 
they  do  completely.  The  clover  comes  on  and  affords  pas- 
ture for  the  hogs  and  the  corn  is  snapped  off  and  fed  to 
them.  Next  year  the  field  comes  up  in  clover  and  is  pas- 
tured in  the  same  manner^,  then  followed  by  corn.  In  this 
way  much  labor  is  saved,  the  hogs  are  profitable  and,  as  on 
the  Lewis  farm,  the  corn  and  clover  are  all  designed  to  help 
make  the  money  crop' — potatoes.  Another  farmer  in  New 
England  followed  a  curious  modification  of  Chemicals  and 
Clover.  He  grew  a  white  flint  corn  which  had  a  peculiar 
value  as  meal.  He  started  on  a  sod  with  corn  and  followed 
with  potatoes,  fertilizing  heavily;  after  the  potatoes  came 
rye.  In  the  spring  this  rye  was  plowed  under  and  corn 
planted  again,  and  in  August  Timothy  and  Eed  Top  grass 
seed  put  in  the  standing  corn.  By  scattering  this  seed 
evenly  and  cultivating  it  in  with  raking  around  the  hills, 
a  good  stand  was  obtained.  The  second  year  you  would 
hardly  know  it  had  been  a  corn  field.  Of  course,  the  stalks 
were  cut  close  to  the  ground  and  rolled  down  in  spring. 
This  plan  is  not  to  be  recommended  for  general  practice 
since  the  scheme  for  seeding  in  the  corn  is  only  suited  to 
certain  localities  and  to  small  areas.  I  simply  mention  these 
cases  as  instances  of  the  way  in  which  the  Chemicals  and 
Clover  system  may  be  worked  out.  The  foundation  in  every 
case  is  to  put  the  chemicals  on  some  money  crop  like  pota- 
toes and  have  the  other  crops  in  the  rotation  serve  this  one 
by  contributing  organic  matter  or  "clover"  and  utilizing  the 
plant  food  left  over  from  the  potatoes.  On  Long  Island 
in  particular  and  in  New  England  great  things  have  been 
done  with  this  system.  The  money  crop  may  be  potatoes  or 
tobacco  or  onions  or  cabbage  or  cauliflowers.  The  "clover" 
may  be  grass,  rye,  corn,  peas  or  vetch,  but  the  principle  is 
the  same.  It  is  a  full  chemical  substitute  for  manure  on  the 
money  crop  and  other  crops  in  the  rotation  to  wait  upon  it, 
take  its  leavings  and  fit  the  ground.  Mr.  Newton  Osborne 
of  Newington,  Conn.,  did  even  more  remarkable  things  than 
Mr.  Lewis,  who  had  good  soil  to  start  with.  Mr.  Osborne 
took  a  sandy  berry  patch,  "grafted"  potatoes  in  the  berry 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  29 

vines  and  made  that  neglected  old  field  into  a  productive 
farm.  Of  course,  it  was  the  same  old  story,  only  more 
forcibly  told.  On  this  poor  and  useless  land  the  Chemicals 
and  Clover  paid  from  the  start  and  made  a  good  farm. 
George  M.  Hewlett,  of  Long  Island,  matched  dollar  for  dollar 
in  stable  manure  again  its  chemical  substihite;  that  is,  he 
used  a  dollar's  worth  of  one  against  a  dollar's  worth  of  the 
other.  The  object  was  to  see  if  the  substitute  could  stand 
up  against  what  was  thought  to  be  the  real  thing.  It  did — 
stood  up  until  the  ''real  thing"''  went  down.  In  this  com- 
parison Mr.  Hewlett  worked  up  to  3,000  pounds  of  chemicals 
on  one  acre  of  potatoes.  When  the  chemicals  beat  the  ma- 
nure on  potatoes  the  critics  said,  "It  may  do  better  with  the 
potatoes,  but  it  cannot  hold  out,  the  wheat  and  grass  will  fail 
without  manure !"  But  they  did  not  fail  for  the  longer  this 
comparison  was  continued  the  greater  superiority  was  shown 
by  the  substitute.  Not  only  the  potatoes  but  the  wheat,  grass 
and  corn  all  showed  better  crops  with  the  chemicals.  As 
in  all  other  cases  where  the  high-grade  goods  are  used,  the 
soil  improved  steadily  with  each  round  of  the  rotation. 

In  Florida  even  greater  and  more  remarkable  results  are 
obtained.  In  the  peculiar  climate  and  soil  of  Florida  dif- 
ferent methods  are  followed.  The  orange  tree  is  peculiar  in 
its  demands  and  cannot  be  safely  fed  upon  plant  food  which 
would  satisfy  corn  or  grass.  Here  there  can  be  no  rotation 
but  the  available  chemicals  must  be  put  just  where  the  tree 
roots  want  it.  Stable  manure  or  corn  crops  with  their 
organic  forms  of  nitrogen  would  not  answer.  They  would 
keep  on  forcing  the  tree  after  it  should  stop  growing.  The 
grower  must  control  the  growth  of  his  tree  and  know  how 
to  make  it  grow  and  then  how  to  make  it  stop.  High-grade 
chemical  mixtures  have  been  used  in  the  best  orange  groves 
for  years,  supplying  just  what  the  trees  needed.  Along  the 
Atlantic  coast  the  use  of  chemicals  with  "clover"  as  needed 
has  revolutionized  gardening  and  trucking.  If  gardeners  and 
fruit  growers  were  now  obliged  to  depend  on  stable  manure  for 
plant  food  entire  sections  would  be  depopulated  and  all 
except  the  rich  would  return  to  a  winter  diet  of  bread,  pork 


30  CHEMICALS  AND   CLOVER 


and  beans  and  canned  goods.  Many  fruit  growers  at  the 
north,  especially  where  located  on  lighter  soils,  now  follow 
the  plan  of  fertilizing  heavily  in  spring,  then  giving  thor- 
ough culture  until  late  July  and  then  let  the  grass  and  weeds 
grow.  This  promotes  rapid  and  early  growth.  The  weeds 
come  in  and  check  this  wood  growth  so  that  the  trees  ripen 
their  wood  and  their  fruit,  while  the  weeds  provide  the 
''clover"  and  thus  make  the  full  manure  substitute. 

The  System  May  Change  Society. 

I  have  told  how  old  farmers  take  advantage  of  Chemicals 
and  Clover  to  save  and  improve  their  farms.  There  is 
another  side  which  must  be  considered.  One  of  the  evils  of 
modern  living  is  the  fact  that  the  country  has  crowded  into 
the  city.  Good  farms  have  been  given  up,  while  many  more 
are  half  worked  and  for  sale  at  a  low  figure.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  towns  are  well  filled  with  men  of  middle  age  or 
younger  who  know  that  they  cannot  hope  to  hold  their 
positions  much  longer.  Some  of  them  have  saved  enough  to 
make  a  fair  start  on  a  farm.  Their  savings  will  barely 
carry  them  three  years  when  they  lose  their  position,  while 
on  a  good  farm,  wisely  handled,  it  would  represent  a  com- 
fortable home  for  life. 

This  hard  problem  has  been  presented  to  thousands 
who  may  read  this  little  book.  It  is  really  the  most  thought- 
ful problem  now  before  the  country.  Food  is  steadily  in- 
creasing in  value  and  prices  for  farm  products  seem  assured 
at  a  high  figure  for  years  to  come.  Land  is  passing  out  of 
production  or  losing  in  power.  The  producers  of  food  are 
not  rapidly  increasing  while  the  consumers  are  growing  more 
numerous  every  year.  From  this  condition  has  grown  the 
"Back  to  the  land"  movement.  It  would  grow  faster  and 
change  the  history  of  the  country  if  the  city  man  with  mod- 
erate capital  could  realize  the  possibilities  of  Chemicals  and 
Clover  farming.  There  lies  the  great  hope  for  him  as  well 
as  for  the  old  time  farmer.  The  city  man  cannot  hope  to  start 
in  and  win  great  success  at  dairying,  poultry  keeping,  sheep 
or  other  live  stock.     It  is  really  a  life  business  to  learn  how 


CHEMICALS   AND   CLOVER  31 

to  handle  these  animals.  With  a  reasonably  level  farm,  how- 
ever, he  can  start  a  rotation  like  that  at  Cranbury  or  a 
modification  of  it,  and  begin  at  once  with  high-grade  fer- 
tilizers. In  fact,  something  of  this  plan  is  about  the  only 
safe  way  for  these  men  to  start.  As  soon  as  they  realize  it, 
hundreds  of  them  will  begin  and  thus,  as  I  have  stated.  Chem- 
icals and  Clover  will  change  history.  Outside  of  live  stock 
specialities  no  farmer  of  the  future  will  succeed  unless  he 
recognizes  and  practices  the  foundation  principles  of  Chem- 
icals and  Clover — a  money  crop  with  other  crops  to  wait  on 
it  and  use  its  wastes  and  a  high-grade  chemical  substitute  for 
manure ! 


Issued  by 
THE  MAPES  FOEMULA  &  PERUVIAN  GUANO  CO., 

143  Liberty  Street,  New  York. 


THE  J.  W.  PRATT  CO.,  PRINTERS,  NEW  YORK 


(C*^!"*****"*" 


